Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

I tried these today.

They will not rock your world, but I think they make a great entry level trio, which I suspect is what the Play concept is all about for CdG. I would have no problem recommending these to younger people looking for something interesting and fun. I brought scent strips home (not the best way of assessing something but it'll have to do, so I will keep comments to basics).

RED: Altho Cherry seems to be mentioned as the 'lead note' my impression out of the bottle was of a gentle fruit compote leaning towards the brighter side - certainly not a sweet cherry. I found it to be quite a pleasant, light yet cheerful vibe. Refreshing and altho primarily femme in it's intent, not girlie girlie by any means. A couple of hours later it fels like a nice cool summer fruit infused iced tea.

GREEN: Not overtly mint or lime to me, but a great enervating combination of both that has settled into a softer tea with a touch of chewing gum (the mastic?). Unisex with a definite 'cooled off after a shower on a summer afternoon' mood sustained throughout. I would recommend this for after gym / yoga - it feels like healthy young people

BLACK: 'The Maculine' (or so the very attractive young SA told me). This one is a little less obvious and while not 'out there' it has just enough of an abstract feel to make me want to go back and try again. Described as 'wood and black-pepper' in the store notes it actually has more to it than that for me. It is NOT a ridiculous pepper like Bang and it is NOT the shitty bad varnish job chipping off cheap plywood base that seems to destroy a lot of modern masculines. I find it attractive in a low key way and I find it interesting that birch tar and treemoss are listed in the little Play brochure thing they give to the SA's. It is also not as austere and resolutely 'woody' (I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay) as Hinoki, Wonderwood et al. It seems quite understated and approachable, and for tweens possibly even a little mysterious - either way, you won't get splinters. Office friendly and all that without being twee.

There you go - very basic first impressions. My overall assessment is that this is a cool launching pad for kids who are into the Play aesthetic and while 'young' they are definitely not cheap 'n nasty, quite the contrary, in fact. At HKD 1,000 a bottle they seem a bit pricey (USD 120) but kids seem to have more disposable income these days and they are packaged up so that you can cop a free tee shirt or buy all three at 15% off with tee shirt and scarf - I'm sure the company know what their target market can stand.

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

fantastic report Mr.Reasonable (as usual). This was exactly the point I was trying to made in another thread. The real point of strength of many (minor) comme des garcons is that they seem to be the only valid candidates to today's anonimous youthful stuff.

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

Thanks! I was looking for where to post this and couldn't find any more recent place so I hope this reaches anyone who might be interested. The SA was on the ball, knew her stuff and I enjoyed trying them. I might even get Black for my son and there's a young pop singer here I'm taking to Guerlain tomorrow who might also like Red. This is good accessible stuff compared to the tweeny stuff they are peddling out there.

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

What’s black? Pepper, lapsang souchong tea, birch tar… even tree moss can bring a lacquered black vibe to a scent. Black Play leans towards the fougère, but with an intriguing, salty twist that can almost be tasted, and a metallic, rosy undercurrent. A very light powdery effect conjured by the tree moss and violet turns these dusky accords into the deep matte velvet of a black swallowtail wing. A little more on the masculine side, but then, women have been known to dabble.

Green:

What’s green? Mint, lime, basil… Green Play opens with a sap-filled burst of the former, the “nanah” used in Moroccan mint tea, a sweet variety with a slight absinth facet, churned into a sparkling fresh brew by lime and juniper berry, with green apple effects. Mastic (also known as lentisque) intensifies the greenness while also adding a soft balsamic note, blending with the vegetal musk of ambrette to keep the mint’s exuberance in check. Vetiver takes the scent from the leaves to the roots. This huge whoosh of feel-good green is bottled energy. We defy you to take a whiff and not rush out to play.

Red:

What’s red? A cherry. But Antoine Maisondieu didn’t want to resort to the usual tricks of the trade, so he conjured it from a quality of Tolu balsam with a cherry facet, added safraleine for shine – and a leather effect that keeps the sweetness in check --, a drop of red mandarin for sweet juiciness as well as osmanthus and myrrh for their fruity effects. The heart burns like a cinnamon candy, freshened with geranium.

This cheery cherry is a totally new interpretation of the note, without a drop of added sugar: it takes the “tart” out of the pie, sticks it back in the tree, and is guaranteed to raise the big goofy grin you’d get if you were a kid let loose on an orchard.

One thing I notice is how much the bottle for Red looks like the original Play, it will be sort of confusing to tell the difference, in stores on a shelf

Original Play:

Red Play

"When you become comfortable with uncertainty. infinite possibilities open up in your life"

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

Originally Posted by laph

Well I guess I'm hoping the series will have a good variation.

Funny thing about the heart though - it doesn't really bother me. I just assumed it was just a "Play" on the Japanese love of cutesy characters that you see in their marketing. I guess the silly heart also feels a bit tongue-in-cheek too rather than the "classy" (puke) logo's of the other brands which don't seem to carry any sense of humour.

This was how I viewed the hearts. Play Black has been on my 'to sample' list since I learned of the notes.

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

Maybe my own way of expressing things is sending out the wrong message - I think these are all good, but as a 56 year old grump who mainly wears Sous le Vent, Patou Pour Homme, Granville, Tiffany for Men, Shalimar, Une Fleur de Cassie and other weird and wonderful stuff (generally from another era) they just aren't my thing.

And, honestly, a quick squirt on a bit of cardboard ain't exactly a real guide as to how they will wear. I really think they are a great set and the Black one is quite cool. They are just not super abstract CdG works - they are an 'easy wear', perhaps more accessible for newcomers to the world of perfumery.

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

Thanks for the information mr. reasonable

Originally Posted by mr. reasonable

I tried these today.
RED: Altho Cherry seems to be mentioned as the 'lead note' my impression out of the bottle was of a gentle fruit compote leaning towards the brighter side - certainly not a sweet cherry. I found it to be quite a pleasant, light yet cheerful vibe. Refreshing and altho primarily femme in it's intent, not girlie girlie by any means. A couple of hours later it fels like a nice cool summer fruit infused iced tea.

GREEN: Not overtly mint or lime to me, but a great enervating combination of both that has settled into a softer tea with a touch of chewing gum (the mastic?). Unisex with a definite 'cooled off after a shower on a summer afternoon' mood sustained throughout. I would recommend this for after gym / yoga - it feels like healthy young people

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

STC is offering a set of all 3 samples for $5.99 today as a daily chance special. They claim they'll shut it down for the day after they sell 20 sets, so I thought these should go to Basenoters (you know, so you can write awesome reviews to help me make up my mind ). Check it out here: http://surrendertochance.com/comme-d...egularly-8-99/.

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

I wore Play Black today, from a sample I got from Barney's in Vegas. You guys know I've always been a big CdG Fan Club member but I really didn't enjoy this one at all. It's very light, no presence, I sprayed about 7-8 sprays and reapplied 2 more before I left the house for the office and I couldn't catch a whiff of myself AT ALL.

There is that smoky, chemical, strangeness to it that I noticed immediately upon application - sort of what I've come to expect from CdG scents but this was quickly followed by...nothing.

I recently acquired a bottle from the Series 1, Tea and OMG that scent slays Play Red in strength, complexity, radiance, uniqueness...I could go on and on.

Sad, but I have to say I do NOT like this one.

I still have a sample of Play Red I'm gonna wear after the gym tomorrow so I'll report back. But it's not looking good, for now.

"When you become comfortable with uncertainty. infinite possibilities open up in your life"

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

I love and own Play Green, but I'm a huge mint fan so that's not a surprise. When I first purchased I thought it didn't have much longevity and even less sillage...but I still bought it because for it's short lived life I loved it. BUT, and I don't know how, I find that it has a ton of longevity on me and the sillage is pretty descent. I don't know what happened between the first couple of wearings to now, it's like my nose honed in on the scent and detects it all day. It has a very real mint leaf smell to it mixed with some awesome herbs. If you like green scents and mint in particular, you should love Play Green.

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

Wore Red a few weeks ago and I'm smelling a tiny amount that fell over my hands while I was decanting the vial into a plastic atomizer since I prefer spraying samples on.

I will echo what I smelled back then: there is a tiny Red Hot Candies note in this, that totally threw me. I expected this, from the previous reviews I've read, to smell much more cherry/fruity and not quite so spicy/confectionery. From far away I get a gentle, transparent slightly soapy sweet scent - very much in the vein of Bath & Body Works hand soaps and then when I sniff the spot where I sprayed it I immediately am greeted with an intense spicy cinnamon candy note.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's playing with me. (pun intended)

"When you become comfortable with uncertainty. infinite possibilities open up in your life"

Re: New Fragrances: Comme des Garcons Play Red, Green & Black

Originally Posted by Kybid

I love and own Play Green, but I'm a huge mint fan so that's not a surprise. When I first purchased I thought it didn't have much longevity and even less sillage...but I still bought it because for it's short lived life I loved it. BUT, and I don't know how, I find that it has a ton of longevity on me and the sillage is pretty descent. I don't know what happened between the first couple of wearings to now, it's like my nose honed in on the scent and detects it all day. It has a very real mint leaf smell to it mixed with some awesome herbs. If you like green scents and mint in particular, you should love Play Green.